Gagged NHS whistleblowers will be allowed to speak out, Sir David Nicholson says

Hundreds of whistleblowers are now free to come forward with damaging
disclosures about the NHS after their gagging orders were retrospectively
lifted, Sir David Nicholson has told MPs.

Sir David was accused of being complicit in a 'pernicious culture of paying people off'Photo: PA

By Peter Dominiczak, Political Correspondent

9:30PM GMT 18 Mar 2013

Sir David, the embattled chief executive of the NHS, told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee that whistleblowers who have been gagged will be written to and told they can finally speak out.

However, he revealed that 44 so-called “compromise agreements” have been issued to NHS staff in the last financial year at a cost of £1.3million to taxpayers.

It raises the prospect of previously silenced whistleblowers disclosing an avalanche of damaging revelations about hospitals and the NHS.

Details about whistleblowers being gagged emerged in the wake of the Mid Staffs scandal, where up to 1,200 patients died needlessly.

Figures showed that in the three years up to 2011, a total of £14.7million of taxpayers’ money was spent on almost 600 compromise agreements, most of which included gagging clauses to silence whistleblowers.

It comes after a respected health analyst and former NHS Trust chairman claimed that Sir David will go “in September”.

Roy Lilley, a founder member of the NHS Trust Federation, said sources had told him that Sir David could be gone before the conference season in autumn.

Sir David, who was appearing before MPs on the Public Accounts Committee, was accused of being complicit in a “pernicious culture of paying people off”.

Of the 44 compromise agreements issued last year, seven were issued by NHS trusts, five by Strategic Health Authorities and 32 by foundation trusts.

NHS officials appearing alongside Sir David said it was not known how many of the agreements could have included gagging orders.

Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP for Barking and chair of the committee, asked Sir David: “The people who have been gagged… has that been lifted?”

Sir David replied: “We’re working through what all of that means at the moment. If that means writing to those individuals who have been involved in those, explaining the arrangements… then that’s what we will do.”

Asked by Mrs Hodge whether those whistleblowers are now free to raise issues that are in the “public interest”, Sir David said: “Absolutely.”

The Government announced last week that NHS gagging orders are to be outlawed.

Sir David is under intense political pressure over the Mid Staffs hospital scandal. A public inquiry into Mid Staffs led to calls for his resignation.

Senior Government figures are said to be considering a plan for Sir David to “pre-announce” his retirement, allowing him to manage the NHS through major Coalition reforms starting next month.

During yesterday’s hearing, Sir David was attacked by MPs for appointing as his deputy a hospital manager accused of suppressing an investigation into high death rates.

Dame Barbara Hakin, the former head of the NHS in the West Midlands, has been accused of blocking an external review of mortality rates at United Lincolnshire NHS Trust, and effectively forcing the resignation of the hospital’s chief executive after he raised concerns.

She is facing a General Medical Council investigation into her conduct

Sir David admitted to MPs that Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, was not informed about her appointment.

He described her as a “very, very talented female clinician” and said he needed a “short-term, interim deputy”.

Asked whether he or Mr Hunt is in control of the NHS, Sir David replied: “I made an interim appointment of a really top class manager.”

Although he admitted he knew about the investigation into Dame Barbara, he told the MPs he couldn’t “wait for the GMC’s processes to go through”.

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Tory MP for Daventry, used the hearing to call on Sir David to resign.

“I've just finished reading the Francis report and I'm now in the opinion of people who think you shouldn't be in the job you're in," he said.

Sir David also told MPs that he needs to travel first class when he takes trains “in order to do my job”.

Raising worrying questions about his leadership of the NHS, Sir David also admitted there is currently no “clear strategy” for the organisation after 2015.

“At the moment we haven’t got a clear strategy as to how we are going to take the NHS forward in the next period of austerity,” he said.

“You’ve got a view up to the end of 2014/15. We’ve got to think about what the NHS might look like after [that].”